Darkest Hour
by xInuyashaxangelx
Summary: AU: In a world where Vampires rule the world and Werewolves are forced into a life of forced servitude, where do the humans of this world fit in? Enter Buffy Summers, the Slayer, to lead them in their darkest hour. *Better summary inside* B/A
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss. Sadly.

Summary:

AU: In a world where Vampires rule the world and Werewolves are forced into a life of forced servitude, where do the humans of this world fit in? In order to find a place and regain a world that used to be theirs, they must look to Buffy Summers, the Slayer, to lead them in their darkest hour. But what happens when she falls in love with something not entirely...human.

* * *

xXx

Prologue

xXx

* * *

Looking back, it's hard to tell whether or not the Slayer won that day.

Yeah, I'm talking about _that_ day.

I mean, if you take the time to ask someone, _anyone_-

Because hey, you're curious right?

It's okay, no need to feel embarrassed.

Really.

Everyone gets curious at one time or another.

I mean, it's exactly what did in the cat wasn't it?

-then it all really just depends on who you ask.

Many people will say yes. She did win. She's alive isn't she? So life is great, let's go get drunk.

But of course, many people will also say no. She didn't win. Sucks for her, let's go get hammered.

Then there's people who really either don't know or don't care.

And of course, every so often you hear someone say something crazy, claiming that the story of the Slayer "never happened" and that the Factory "never existed" and that the Master's reign of terror is "not real" and "simply meant to scare little children into obeying their parents and never wandering far from home after dark".

Those loony bastards.

Ooh! And let's not forget that some storytellers will distort the tale until the story is changed completely and becomes purely fiction. Either that or they'll leave things out or add things in, never truly telling the whole, complete, and unadulterated story of the Slayer.

But hey! It's okay. I'm here to set the record straight. After all, I was there…or at least my parents were there. Yeah. I know, it's weird for me too.

Oh wait! I guess it'd be really confusing for you if I skipped directly to night of the final battle. I think you should know _everything_ before deciding whether or not the Slayer won that night.

All right then! It's decided. There's only one place to start this story and THAT my friend, is from...

The beginning.

* * *

A/N: Please read and review! I'll give you a cookie! Will get interesting. Promise.

But first! A taste of what's to come:

* * *

"I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors." She encouraged.

She smiled and gave him the thumbs-up signal with both hands. "None of those lazy, walking colors."

"Lazy colors." He echoed, a look of confusion and 'I think you're crazy" on his face.

"Yeah!" She replied brightly, "Umm...You know..._lazy_ colors."

He waited for her explanation.

"As in colors that are lazy..." She started.

"Uhh huh..." He pressed.

"...and walk..."

"Mmm hmm..."

"...instead of fly." She finished in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone.

"Right..."

He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I'm going to go train." He declared and left the room as abruptly as he had entered it.

"Hmph." She grumbled, returning to her book.

That was the last time she was ever going to try to cheer _him_ up.

What a Mr. Grumpy-face.


	2. Past Beginnings

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sadly. You know who does.

Summary:

AU: In a world where Vampires rule the world and Werewolves are forced into a life of forced servitude, where do the humans of this world fit in? In order to find a place and regain a world that used to be theirs, they must look to Buffy Summers, the Slayer, to lead them in their darkest hour. But what happens when she falls in love with something not entirely...human.

* * *

xXx

Chapter 1: Beginning

xXx

* * *

"Run! Hurry!"

It was still distant, but he could hear their faint roars of anger and bloodlust growing louder as they got closer and closer…

If he was caught trying to escape, there was no doubt in his mind that he would face days, if not months of torture.

"Go Rupert!" She yelled out again, giving him a shove, and knocking him out of his temporary stupor. "You must leave now!"

As he squeezed through the hole in the wall and got into the makeshift boat strong enough to only take one adult and a child, he turned around, a look of sorrow on his face, and faced her.

"Why don't you go Joyce?" He didn't hide the sadness in his voice. "The children need _you_. It'd…It'd be better if I stayed and you went."

The strong-willed woman in front of him, whom he had always greatly admired, had her own look of deep sorrow upon her face.

She closed her eyes, trying to keep herself composed and her face emotionless. It was as if she had a mask of bravery upon her face that had almost slipped when he mentioned her children.

But she couldn't fool him.

Not only because he had known her almost all his life but, even in the nearly pitch-black darkness, there was still enough moonlight to illuminate her face.

He could see the tears she was fighting to hold back and the tears that were already running down her cheeks.

"I…I can't."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Hank…Hank needs me. The _rebellion _needs me…" She hugged the bundle of dirty cloths in her arms even tighter, giving the baby inside a kiss. "I have to stay. Hank trusts you. You have to go… if the rebellion _fails_…"

She trailed off, not allowing the thought to be completed.

He nodded, understanding her reasons.

She walked over to him and placed the child tenderly in his arms. She knew that she would never be able to watch her baby grow up and her heart broke at the thought as a deep gut-wrenching pain of un-known origin filled her.

She had to stay strong.

Rupert Giles watched as she bent down, and gave the small, sniffling boy next to her a kiss on cheek and smiled.

"Be strong William." She wiped away the tears on his little cheeks and hugged him, knowing very well that it would be the last time she ever saw her son. She hoped that he would grow up to become a fine man, even without her. "Be brave, live."

"O…okay" Came a tiny reply.

The young boy sniffled and hugged his mother even tighter. "I love you momma."

She picked him up and walked over to where Rupert was and helped William into the make-shift boat. "I love you too."

Tears started streaming down the boy's cheeks but he had to stay quiet. He knew that if he cried out, his momma and uncle Giles would get into trouble. It was then, in his five-year-old mind, that he made a silent promise to himself and his mother.

He would never cry out, no matter what.

"Goodbye." He heard his mother say. "Please take care of them Rupert."

He saw Uncle Giles nod and reply back. "As if they were my own children."

As the three of them drifted away in the darkest hour of night, farther and farther away from the Master's stronghold, William would forever remember the image of his mother, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she was overtaken by vampires and roughly pulled back into the castle.

He was about to cry out when he remembered his promise. Instead he turned away and vowed that he would save his mother and everyone else still stuck in the Factory.

Tears still streamed down his face and Giles, still holding his baby sister, gave held him in his arms, comforting him.

Giles looked at the bundle in his arms, sleeping soundly.

It was as if the baby knew about the gravity of the situation, keeping silent the entire time.

It was remarkable.

Giles looked up at the sky and a slight smile graced his features.

Dawn would be coming and what had started out as one man's idea turned dream finally became reality.

The Rebellion had begun.

* * *

xXx

13 years later...

xXx

* * *

The doors of the abandoned library burst open and the young girl looked up just in time to see her brother charge in with a sour look on his face.

"Giles is making me do the course _again_." He declared angrily. "Said I wasn't 'agile enough' or something.

The girl brushed a stray strand of blond hair away from her eyes and put the book she was studying down, giving her brother a look of disbelief.

"Really? I passed it on the first try though…" She thought out loud, absentmindedly. "This must be _at least _your third or fourth time huh, Willy?"

"The name's…_Spike_." Came a strained response. "And _no_ it's the fifth…"

Upon seeing her brother's face turn red with anger, she realized that she had spoken her thoughts out loud.

"Hehe…" She began, trying to redeem herself. After all, what if he didn't want to hunt tonight? Then that meant that she'd have to and _ugh_ how she hated werewolves. "Fifth time's the charm!"

He sneered. "I'll bet."

"I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors." She encouraged.

She smiled and gave him the thumbs-up signal with both hands. "None of those lazy, walking colors."

"Lazy colors." He echoed, a look of confusion and 'I think you're crazy" on his face.

"Yeah!" She replied brightly, "Umm...You know..._lazy_ colors."

He waited for her explanation.

"As in colors that are lazy..." She started.

"Uhh huh..." He pressed.

"...and walk..."

"Mmm hmm..."

"...instead of fly." She finished in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone.

"Right..."

He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I'm going to go train." He declared and left the room as abruptly as he had entered it.

"Hmph." She grumbled, returning to her book.

That was the last time she was ever going to try to cheer _him_ up.

What a Mr. Grumpy-face.

That probably _will_ end up with lazy walking colors and have to re-do the course a _sixth_ time.

She chuckled at her own inside-joke with herself.

But as she put her focus back on the book, a sour looked of her own fell upon her face.

It was then that Buffy Anne Summers, daughter of Rebellion leaders Joyce and Hank Summers, sister of William "Spike" Summers, remembered the reason she was in here studying instead of out there with her brother and the others training. And the reason for her torture was because she herself had failed a test of Uncle Giles' and therefore, he had ordered her to study and re-take the 'Mythological Creatures' questionnaire…

…for the sixth time.

She was just as bad as Willy.

With a groan, she lowered her head on the table and sighed.

The Slayer shouldn't have to read and study.

The Slayer should just have to fight and kick bad guy butt.

Oh woe.

She picked up her head and stared at the book, flipping to a random page.

It was a picture of a Medusa, a mystical creature with a swarm of slithering snakes in place of hair. The snakes were capable of thousands of highly poisonous bites and Medusas had the power to turn their enemies into stone.

"Ugh." She made a face. "Can you say bad hair day?"

* * *

A/N: Thanks to my friend Reiko for the "Lazy walking colors" thing! She totally cheered me up with that hehe. More to come! We'll be time-skipping a few years into the future in the next chapter so more of your favorite characters will be making an appearance! (Along with some twists oOooOo)

Please Read and Review! Virtual cookie anyone? :D

A taste of what's to come:

* * *

"Don't come back until you've killed her with your bare claws."

She was confused.

"Bear claws?" She looked around. "Where would I get bear claws?"

"Harmony…" He said her name with annoyance clear in his tone.

As realization dawned on her she smiled sheepishly and snapped her fingers. "Oh…right…Heh. Gotcha boss."

Harmony walked toward the entrance and left quickly before he could change his mind about letting her live.

Angelus groaned.

He was surrounded by idiot subordinates everywhere he turned.

And that was a LOT of idiots.

He could hear Riley laughing behind him.

Riley's voice rang against his ears like sandpaper. "Pretty girl Angelus, though tsk. Too bad she's as dumb as a post."

Great.

HE was here.

Big brother was here to pay him a visit.

That meant Tara wasn't too far behind.

* * *


	3. Restless Woes

Disclaimer: I own nothing, other people do. I own a laptop.

Summary:

AU: In a world where Vampires rule the world and Werewolves are forced into a life of forced servitude, where do the humans of this world fit in? In order to find a place and regain a world that used to be theirs, they must look to Buffy Summers, the Slayer, to lead them in their darkest hour. But what happens when she falls in love with something not entirely...human.

* * *

xXx

Chapter 2: Restless Woes, Toes

xXx

* * *

Angelus was bored.

And hungry.

The only source of light and warmth came from the fireplace located not too far from him, illuminating his angel-like features as he wandered around the large stone-walled chamber, pacing back and forth, his dark pelt brushing along the floor.

Each step he took echoed through the nearly hollow hall, like a metronome ticking away.

And as he paced, the other three presences within the room simply sat idly, two on one side, one in the corner, their attention focused on his erratic movements and unending pacing.

Even though they didn't show it, each one of them understood Angelus' restlessness, they themselves pent up with unspent energy that tore at them from within the very core of their being.

They were all growing more and more impatient with each passing second.

They could all sense it.

The moon would be full in a few days and every one of them within the proximity could feel the increased intensity of it.

They all _craved_ it.

Every fiber within their being screamed out for it and they could already begin to feel the changes that would soon occur within their bodies.

For when the moon was full, their power would be at its peak around the three nights surrounding the full moon and The Master would once again let them out to hunt, let them roam under cover of darkness, and once again let them feed. But every night after that, after three days of pure, unadulterated feeding, they were not allowed out from their confines after the sun set and darkness fell on the land.

And until the next full moon, they would have to take whatever scraps The Master and the other cold ones decided to spare and that only made to worsen the dull gnawing pain of hunger within them.

But that was the law.

That was his will.

For even though Werewolves and Vampires were both creatures of the night, the night was not dark enough for both of them. So because of this, the cold ones ruled the night while the Wylde ones were forced to run in the day, something not in their nature to do.

But The Master had commanded it, so they, the last of The Wyldes, with their lives bound to him and to him only, had to obey, protecting The Master and the others from harm while the cold ones slept during the day.

Angelus sighed, making one last trip around the room and sat down, moving to place his head onto the cold hard floor of the large mansion. A low growling sound emitted from him as he stared absentmindedly at the wall opposite his view, lost in thoughts of maiming and hunting.

She had been watching him with great interest and when she saw that he had settled, Veruca walked over to where Angelus had chosen to rest. She sat down besides him and nuzzled his bare back, showing her loyalty and respect for him as she attempted to soothe him. Parker and Ethan had also risen from their respective resting places and now began to pace, the sound of footsteps once again echoing through the cold, hollow hall, replacing the previous moment of silence. When she saw that Angelus did not respond, nor acknowledge her, she rose from his side and walked to where her lover stood, entering Parker's embrace.

Suddenly, the chamber door opened and all four turned their attention to the person who had entered the lair.

It was Harmony.

Angelus bolted upright and moved to meet her halfway. He could smell the scent of battle and blood not her own upon her.

"What happened." He demanded.

"Well…" The tiny blonde started, looking away.

Silence returned to the room.

"What."

He was growing impatient.

"The Slayer." She answered, still looking away.

It was a simple answer, but it was enough to let him know what had happened. She brought her head back up to meet his eyes and cringed slightly when she saw that his eyes had turned a dangerous gold filled with anger.

He took a deep breath attempting to calm himself.

"Did she kill him?" He asked, voice steady.

"No. But they managed to knock out Jesse though, and Ben was hurt." She looked sad for a moment but grinned brightly instead. "No one died though!" Then she paused, thinking of a way to break the news of The Anointed one's defeat to the large angry man in front of her. "And…"

"And what?" Impatience lined his tone.

Well…" She smiled awkwardly, her eyes meeting his. "They…kinda, sorta dusted Collin though…and most likely his followers too."

Angelus walked closer to her, closing the distance between them. "How _dare_ they attack the House of The Anointed." He snarled, eyes blazing. "Where were you and the others?"

Harmony felt small and tiny under his unfaltering gaze.

"Well, they had tranquilizer guns…and silver stakes!" She replied nervously. "I tried to stop them but…"

She trailed off.

"And The Master's slave shipment?"

"One died while the others were rescued…The Master won't be too happy. That's for sure…"

Silence fell for a moment before Angelus spoke again, causing her to jump.

"I want her dead." He spoke in a calm, too calm, voice. "Kill the Slayer and bring her body to The Master as penance. Fix your mistake. Do you understand?"

He didn't wait for her reply. "Now go tend to the wounded then report back to me afterwards. We'll have to deal with this problem."

"Yes sir." She nodded. "Will do. Look. This is me. Going. I'm practically gone."

Harmony turned to go.

Angelus walked over to where Ethan and the other others stood and promptly punched Ethan in the face.

Angelus sighed and smiled slightly. "Ahh. I feel better."

Ethan fell to the ground, blood running down the side of his jaw and onto the floor from a cut above his lip. "Bloody fantastic."

From his spot on the floor, he looked up and gave Angelus a dirty look. "So are you going to help me up or not?"

"Of course." Angelus replied brightly, extending an arm to help the older man up.

He suddenly remembered something and released his grip, with Ethan promptly falling back onto the floor with a startled 'oomph!' and a single thought: _Damn Angelus._

He could hear Parker and Veruca chuckling in the background.

"Oh, and Harmony?" Angelus called out, turning around.

She stopped in her tracks and swiftly turned around, just in time to see Angelus open his mouth to speak again.

"I'm holding you personally accountable for this."

But that wasn't true. It wasn't her fault. In fact, it was _his_ fault. He knew that The Master wouldn't be happy and would hold him accountable, and he knew that he deserved to be punished. But hey, in the meantime, why not scare her a little? The fear might actually do her some good.

"But-" Harmony walked to where Angelus stood and started to whine, but the glare she got from him shut her up.

She nodded obediently.

"Don't come back until you've killed her with your bare claws."

She was confused.

"Bear claws?" She looked around. "Where would I get bear claws?"

"Harmony…" He said her name with annoyance clear in his tone.

As realization dawned on her she smiled sheepishly and snapped her fingers. "Oh…right…Heh. Gotcha boss."

Harmony walked toward the entrance and left quickly before he could change his mind about letting her live.

Angelus groaned.

He was surrounded by idiot subordinates everywhere he turned.

And that was a LOT of idiots.

He could hear Riley laughing behind him.

Riley's voice rang against his ears like sandpaper. "Pretty girl Angelus, though tsk. Too bad she's as dumb as a post."

Great.

HE was here.

Big brother was paying him a visit.

That meant Tara wasn't too far behind.

He turned around and sure enough, he saw the large, bulky figure of his brother Riley and the not quite-so-large figure of his sister Tara.

Angelus smiled upon seeing her but inwardly groaned at the thought of having to deal with Riley.

Tara walked to him and ran a hand gingerly over his cheeks in greeting and smiled. "Hello little brother."

"Hello Tara." Angelus lowered his head, as a sign of respect. He saw that she was hurt, the normally white pelt around her shoulders stained and splattered with blood. There was also a, what appeared to be, large gash on her forehead. But then again, it didn't come as a surprise to him. Tara's pack-mates were the ones who were guarding the House of The Anointed and the ones who were overlooking the slave shipment. She must have joined the fight when she heard about the attack.

"Are you okay?" He was beginning to feel more and more guilty.

"I'll be fine." Tara smiled and nodded, reassuring him. "It's just a flesh wound. It'll be healed before the moon rises tomorrow."

Riley spoke up.

"Yeah little brother, it's no big deal." He flashed him a teasing smirk as he circled the younger man. "Our big sister isn't weak like you."

"Or, as I recall, you." Angelus replied simply, a tiny smirk of his own graced his features when he saw how fast his comment had wiped the cocky smile off his brother's face.

Tara rolled her eyes as the tension between Riley and Angelus filled the room.

She mentally sighed.

Brothers.

Parker, Ethan, and Veruca, sensing that this was more than just a family reunion, bowed out quietly and left the chamber, leaving the three to speak.

After a few more seconds of the two staring each other down, Tara was getting annoyed. "Ahem. Guys?"

Though pure instinct told him it was time to charge Angelus and teach him who was superior, his sense of reason told him that it was not. That and because if he did, Tara would probably beat him senseless. So Riley relaxed, mentally saving a can of whoop-ass for his overconfident brother.

Angelus saw that Riley had backed down so he had also relaxed slightly as well.

"So…" The annoying smirk was back. "It seems like my boots were too big for you to fill huh little brother? You know you made the wrong decision when you decided that three puppies were enough to oversee the shipment. It was a bad call Angelus." The smirk was gone now, replaced by a grim expression, anger in his tone. "Your bad call ended up involving Tara which got her hurt and The Anointed One dead. There's a reason I'm the Alpha male. You should think twice before the next time you ask The Master to let you lead the pack. That is, if he lets you live eh?"

For once, Angelus had no response.

Because, for once, Riley was right.

Riley's tone lightened a little when he saw that Angelus had nothing to say and because Tara had just elbowed him.

Hard.

He sighed. "I'm pretty sure this doesn't earn you any points with The Master little brother but don't worry, I'm sure he won't _kill_ you. Maybe just torture you a bit?"

Angelus didn't care.

He had failed and would gladly give his life to make up for it.

Tara saw the distress on her younger brother's face and reached out. "It's okay, these things are unforeseen. It's just that, with the moon nearly full and The Master's plans so close to completion, tensions are high."

Angelus nodded. "I know."

He moved and walked towards the door, ready to meet The Master and receive his punishment. He hugged Tara and bid her farewell while simply grunting as he passed Riley, and quickly left the chambers.

He was ready to serve his penance.

He awaited for The Master's return come daybreak.

* * *

xXx

* * *

"Achoo!"

Buffy Summers sneezed violently for the fourth time in a row.

Spike, who was sitting next to her writing a poem for one of the girls they had just rescued stopped and gave her an odd look. "Getting sick?"

"I don't think so." Buffy shook her head, sniffling a bit. "At least, I shouldn't be. Do Slayers even get sick?"

Spike shrugged. "Hell if I know."

A quizzical, thoughtful look fell upon her face.

"Maybe someone's saying something bad about me."

She frowned.

That would be bad, not to mention mean of whoever was doing the bad-mouthing.

Spike shrugged again, his attention obviously back on the poem he was writing for the girl he was smitten with. "Maybe…"

He scribbled some more on the paper, trying to concentrate.

But it was hard with Buffy talking so much.

A man needed complete and utter silence when writing a manly poem!

"Go bother Wesley would you? I'm busy." He sighed. "I wonder what rhymes with woes…"

Buffy rolled her eyes.

Wooing a girl was obviously more important to her brother than his own sister.

Ugh.

Brothers.

"Whatever Willy. I don't even see why you like her so much anyway. I mean, you just met her a day ago. Do you even know her name?"

He stuck his tongue at her childishly.

"Love needs no labels." He declared simply.

"Right…you were probably just too afraid to ask."

That was true, but since he felt that he didn't have to share that info with his little sister, Spike simply ignored her.

"Wait."

Buffy suddenly remembered something.

"Speaking of a day ago, what did you do with the doohickey you got off the vampire that you dusted?"

"You mean the 'Annoying One'?" Spike looked up. "He wasn't tough at all. I bet the vampires spread hyped up stories about him on purpose so that we'd be afraid." He began to ramble. "Heck, maybe The Master isn't that bad either! Since no one's ever really seen him, maybe he's uber tiny! Like a kitty, a blood sucking kitty…and uhh," He cleared his throat, as if trying to gain back some of the nonchalance he had before going off on his tangent. "I gave it to Wesley. He said that he'd do some research and get back to me."

"Okay, good cuz I totally got the willies, hehe no pun intended…" Buffy winked.

Spike rolled his eyes.

"…when I saw it."

Spike returned to his poem. "This is me ignoring that pun and well, you know Wesley. He loves research almost as much as…" He stopped writing.

Buffy sighed, knowing whose name Spike was going to say.

Life was a constant battle for survival.

They were constantly fighting.

They were never safe.

Not even when the sun was up.

They had learned that the hard way.

"I miss Giles…"

Oh oh.

Taboo territory.

At the mention of Giles, Spike put the pencil down and placed his hand on Buffy's. "I do too. I mean, we owe him so much. He was a great man…so I reckon that we better do him proud yeah?" He smiled.

"Yeah." Buffy smiled back.

Then her smile dropped a little. "But even though it's been five years already…"

Spike placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, I know. It still hurts. But we're doing the right thing here. He would have wanted us to keep fighting."

Buffy nodded. "So that's what we'll do."

"Yep."

"Thanks Willy."

Comfortable silence fell between the two siblings.

"Toes! Brilliant!" Spike suddenly shouted happily, slightly startling Buffy. He picked up the pencil and hurried to scribble some more on the piece of paper, stopping only to mutter 'It's _Spike_' and shoot her an angry glare.

Tender moment came to an end.

Buffy took a few seconds to digest what her brother had just said.

Was he seriously going to rhyme the words 'woes' and _'toes'_ in what was supposedly a _romantic love_ poem?

Like Eww.

He was such a bad poet and he didn't even know it!

Spike was still busily scribbling away on the desk, eager to give the poem to the intended recipient as soon as he could.

While sitting next to him was Buffy, chuckling at her, though lame, private joke.

After a few seconds she sighed contently and returned to fixing her training-damaged crossbow, hoping that the group that went on the supply run hadn't run into any trouble, particularly with werewolves, and wondering when they would return from gathering supplies and the other essentials.

It was good that she did because it was in just a mere 48 hours, her life was about to become far more complicated and the crossbow that she was currently working to fix up would be the very thing that saves her life.

* * *

xXx

* * *

A/N: Review? Pretty please? With Buffy and/or Angel on top? :D Also, is it just me or are the chapters getting longer and longer with each update...

* * *


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